Terracotta flower pot with handles made in Italian style - Fornace Masini

Orcio Oliva is a beautiful terracotta planter suitable for decorating gardens, terraces, and homes.

This terracotta planter is handcrafted by our artisans and is decorated at the top with only two handles.

Its name comes from its shape, which is slightly elongated and resembles an olive.

Terracotta planters date back to Etruscan times, when they were used as containers for oil, wine, and other food products.

It is suitable for storing all kinds of flowers, plants, or shrubs. The good breathability of terracotta combined with thermal insulation and minimal moisture release from watering keeps the roots and plants in excellent health.

It is a valuable piece of furniture that adds beauty and elegance to your garden or home. It can also be used as an umbrella stand.

Like all other products from the Masini Terrecotte Artistiche series, it is weather-resistant up to -25 °C.

The size and color of the vase, as shown above, may vary slightly due to the handcrafted nature of the product, making each piece unique in the world.

High-quality clay and ancient terracotta-making techniques are synonymous with the Fornace Masini brand. Their kiln has been operating since 1938, making it one of the oldest in the area. Since then, from generation to generation, Masini has been committed to offering and guaranteeing products that combine beauty and craftsmanship with functionality and durability. Each artifact is a unique work of functional art.

There are many terracotta processing techniques, each with its own secrets, history, and artisans. The brand crafts clay using ancient traditional methods. In the kiln, water, air, fire, and earth mix and embrace each other, creating unique objects of extraordinary beauty.

The entire "MASINI" range of vessels is perfect for interior decoration, but due to the natural closeness of the material to the environment and natural colors, it finds its happiest application in garden furniture. Our products are recognizable by the brand, which guarantees the highest quality of each item, where the artisan's touch and the vitality of tradition are clearly visible.

Terracotta tiles have been used in the most important Florentine buildings, such as the Santo Spirito church, Sant'Ambrogio, the apartments of the Grand Duke at Palazzo Vecchio, the Santissima Annunziata monastery, Santa Trinita, and hospitals Santa Maria Nuova and Innocenti. The entire range of "Fornace Masini" products is resistant to extreme temperatures from –20 °C to desert heat. This durability is due to the highly valued clay mined in the Impruneta area, a town near Florence, between the valleys of the Ema and Greve streams. The extraction area is very limited—about 200 km—making the material's value extraordinary.

Precautions to keep products in excellent condition for a long time

1. Use small wooden or terracotta supports to keep the planter elevated and ensure the drainage hole is not blocked;

2. Make sure water does not stagnate in containers used as cachepots or plant holders;

3. Empty and possibly invert "saucers" or vessels that collect water when temperatures approach 0 °C;

4. Wall and garden fountains should be emptied during cold seasons to avoid cracks or breaks caused by water freezing and expanding;

5. Do not move or lift pots when frozen and stuck to the ground, and do not use hot water to detach them—if necessary, use salt.

6. Prevent prolonged snow accumulation on products, as it may cause damage.

The color of each product is unique and differs from all others. This is due to the chemical and physical components of the Impruneta clay, which appear during firing, sometimes dominating over others.

Among the most distinctive chemical components is iron oxide, which colors the fired product in a characteristic red hue.